Something else I've said before, but some of you (Black Mistress, this is you!) may not have noticed is that you guys can e-mail me any time! yamatos_fangirl@hotmail.com I try and answer all my e-mails as quick as I can, so drop me a line. ^~ I usually don't have time to do anything if you ask me to e-mail you in a review, but if you actually e-mail me first I'll be glad to answer.

Disclaimer: >> .....You know by now. I know you know....

Hehehe... A lot of this was written during various study halls and classes last week. ^^ I have a notebook that I carry around with me, and the Sailor Moon section was written furiously over the course of about five periods (roughly 3 1/2 hours) and lunch, plus the bus ride home. ^^; Anyway, enjoy!

Oh yes, and Yokomon52 is the reviewer who gave me the idea of braile Duel Monsters cards. ^~ If I do use ideas that you guys give me, I always try and give you credit. If you read something and think I used your idea, but I didn't give you credit, it's probably because I actually thought of it first. ^~ I seem to be anticipated a lot lately...

*crosses eyes slightly* Oh come on people!! You don't mean to tell me you STILL don't know who's in the tomb?! >> I've had, I think, ONE person guess right. ^~ I'm not sure if it'll get revieled in this chapter or not, but if it isn't there'll sure be more clues. GUESS!! I want to know what ya'll think!! ^o^ It's really, really obvious if you think about it...

()()()()()

Home Sweet Home

Chapter 6 -- Viva la France!

Duke jerked his head up from where it bent over Ryou as three yells attracted his attention. His eyes widened as he saw Sailor Uranus diving at him from one direction, Sailor Moon from another, and the Daimon from yet another. Wait... they weren't diving at him, they were aiming for Ryou's Heart Crystal, which was floating just above his head!

Awkwardly and with Ryou still half on his lap, Duke jumped as high as he could from his knees, stretching his arms over his head. He was just able to cup his hands around Ryou's heart and jerk it away just before Sailor Uranus's hand would have closed around it. He had no idea what Uranus and Neptune were up to, or why they didn't seem to get along with the other Senshi, but he knew it was up to him to make sure Ryou stayed safe. He yanked his hands back down, the Crystal enclosed protectively between them.

Just in time too, as the three women suddenly found the object of their desires gone. Of course, gravity had something to say about that, and all three of them came crashing down on top of Duke. There was a moment of confused struggling, during which Duke stayed on his knees, his body curled around his cupped hands, which in turn were pressed tightly to his chest. Duke could feel the Heart Crystal pulsing in time to his heart beat, and shuddered slightly at the sheer power in his palms. No wonder the bad guys always wanted Ryou so badly.

After a moment Sailor Moon and the Daimon untangled themselves and jumped away to fight each other, the Heart temporarily forgotten. Whoever was in charge of the Daimons had summonded two more, and with them added together with Sailor Neptune the Inner Senshi were kept busy.

Which left Sailor Uranus and Duke.

Uranus rolled off of Duke's back, grabbing his ponytail as she did. She yanked on it, forcing Duke to come out of his curl and onto his knees with Uranus standing over him, his hair held tightly in her right hand. "Gimme that Heart Crystal kid and I won't hurt you!" she hissed.

"Never!" Despite how much it hurt, Duke twisted around, trying to either roll to his feet or slide out of her grasp. At the same time, Sailor Uranus was trying to swing him around by his hair so she could get to his hands, which held the Crystal. In doing so, Uranus slammed her knee forcefully and half on accident into Duke's already injured ribs.

Stars exploded in front of the dice master's eyes as he felt something inside him crack. He gasped for the breath which was suddenly forced out of his lungs, and fell back to his knees as the world swam around him. His grip on the Heart Crystal loosened for a moment, but just as quickly he made himself tighten it again, trying to ignore the fire that tore through his chest with every breath he took. For a moment Uranus's hands around his ponytail were the only things holding him upright as he swayed dangerously, fighting for air.

He thought he heard a yell of triumph, but it seemed far away. Then came another yell, something that was half a scream, and suddenly Sailor Uranus wasn't holding on to his hair anymore. Gratefully Duke fell forward into the arms of darkness that waited for him, giving in to the sparks that danced before his eyes.

It was about an hour or so later that Amoura-tachi immerged from the Duel Monsters store, their arms laden with boxes and bags and goodies of all sorts. Most were souveniers for their friends, but some were gifts to themselves. ^~ And, of course, the guys got stuck carrying the most. Observe.

Yami was carrying his own toilet paper (>>), the pair of Exodia boxers he'd gotten, a Dark Magician poster, a little Dark Magician Girl figurine for Grampa, a pair of Kuriboh fuzzy slippers for himself, a Dark Magician pair for Yugi, and a Blue Eyes White Dragon pair for Grampa, a small DMG locket that he planned to give Tea for her next birthday, and the bobble-heads for Kaiba and Joey.

Yugi was loaded down with a pair of Celtic Guardian boxers for himself and another pair with Mystical Elves, a Curse of Dragon plushie, a pillow in the shape of a chibi Flame Swordsman for Joey, a Change of Heart figurine for Ryou (Bakura thought it looked scarily like Fate), a toy Dark Magician staff for himself, a toy Cyber Commander machine gun for Tristan, a pretty Black Pendant necklace (for Tea on her next birthday), and a Petite Angel plushie for Serenity. He was carrying some of Tea's stuff too, which mostly included plushies and a toy DMG staff.

Bakura had Man Eater Bug boxers for himself and Change of Heart boxers for Ryou, the box containing the braile Dueling Deck, a small portrait of the Dark Elf for Shen (who actually did duel, just not very well), a Petite Dragon plushie (which he planned on giving to Julien when no one was around to tease him), and a box of the Duel Monsters fruity snacks. He was also carrying a lot of Amoura's stuff, which included a few new cards for her grandmother, a Maha Vailo plushie, a rattle with the Dark Magician on it for Julien, a few doujinshi (in French and non-yaoi), and a candle or two.

Tea was carrying her purse and a few secret things she didn't want the guys to know about. ^~ The Kuriboh lingurie for one thing. Plus a really pretty portrait of the Dark Magician for Yugi's next birthday, and one of the DMG for Yami. (Yami and Yugi always celebrated their birthdays one day apart, since Yami didn't know when his real birthday was. It may be noted that Ishtar and Malik and Ryou and Bakura did this as well) She also had a small bag of candy for Julien.

Amoura was "loaded down" with her purse, her Petite Dragon undergarments, and an absolutely gorgeous Change of Heart statue that she planned to give as her present to both Ryou and Bakura come their birthdays. It had been expensive, but Tea had agreed with her that the boys would really like it.

The Change of Heart was sitting on a rock, half-way leaned back and in a casual possition, her wings fanned out behind her. As Tea had pointed out, her expression seemed to change each time you looked. First she was happy, then just dreamy, then she looked mad, ect. It really was a beautiful piece, and well worth the money Amoura had paid.

Franz had driven them downtown from the manor earlier that afternoon, and he had told them to go and do what they liked, and he would catch a movie or something and then drive them home. Really though, they could have walked if they'd wanted. Now they all trouped back to the limo and deposited their bags and boxes and various other things, but Yugi and Tea had decided they didn't want to leave quite yet. Franz said that was fine with him, and that the two of them could walk back, or he could come back for them after he took the other three home.

The limo was actually beginning to get a bit crowded. Before the bread-thief-swordfight incident they'd been on the town several hours, and had made quite a few purchases. Souveniers for them and all their friends, of course, as well as just random, useless junk. I mean hey, it was Paris! When in Paris, you must shop!

So Yugi and Tea wandered off down the street, and Amoura got in the limo. As Bakura made to get in too, a quiet voice from behind him stopped him cold.

"(Bekhura.)"

Bakura paused. Something about the way Yami had said his name... Slowly he straightened up and turned to face the spikey-haired duelist, and answered him in Egyptian. "(Yes, my pharoah?)"

Yami dipped his head slightly in recognision of his title. "(I would talk with you a little, my friend. Would you walk with me?)"

Bakura turned slightly and stuck his head in the limo. "Amoura, Yami and I are going to go for a walk. You can head on back to the house, if you want."

"No, zat is okay." Amoura said, smiling and pulling a small novel out of her purse. "I vill vait for you. Franz and I vill be right 'ere."

Bakura nodded and turned back to Yami, gesturing for the Puzzle Spirit to lead the way. The two of them began to walk in a random direction, quiet for the most part. After a few blocks Yami asked "(Who do you love more then any other, Bekhura?)"

Bakura stared at him, wondering why Yami would ask such a stupid question. "(Ryou.)" he answered automaicly.

A small smile tugged on the corners of Yami's lips. "(Ah yes, the little lights. They do seem to captivate the heart, don't they? But no Bekhura, I phrased the question wrong. What woman do you love above no one else?)"

"(I...)" Bakura started and for a moment stopped walking. He closed his eyes and turned his face upward, as if asking Ra to give him the answer. Yami just stood with his arms crossed, watching him. As for the tomb robber, he was remembering running across hot sands with Anjil at his side, eluding guards, infiltrating the palace, making love in the middle of a desert oasis on the most starry night Bakura could ever remember. But suddenly, in the place of Anjil there stood a green-haired French maiden, her face streaked with tears after Director-baka's insults. Laughing as he stumbled his way through her French lessons. Looking up at him shyly as he returned her purse to her that very evening. For a moment Bakura saw Anjil and Amoura standing side by side. His eyes snapped open, and focused on Yami.

"(I... I don't know.)" Bakura answered truthfully.

Yami nodded, as if this was the answer he had expected. The pharoah drew an arm around Bakura's shoulders, and the two began walking again. "(Why don't you know?)"

Bakura took a moment to think about this. "(I think... I don't know. I still love Anjil more then anything, but my heart tells me that I love Amoura too. Or at least, I like her a lot.)"

"(But why?)" Yami pressed.

"(Because... Because Amoura is sweet and kind and just so unlike anyone I've ever met before. I remember back when Ryou was sick the first day of classes. Did you know Amoura skipped out on her last class of the day so she'd have time to come visit him? That's just the kind of person she is. But Anjil... Out in the desert it was kill or be killed. I doubt Anjil would have done anything like that.)"

"(Will you allow me to advise you, my friend?)" Yami asked, and continued only after Bakura had nodded. "(For the past five thousand years, Anjil has been the one you love because she was the only one. Over time, as your memories of her dimmed, you pushed her faults away and molded her into a sort of idol in your heart. But now there is Amoura, and you are learning again what true love is.)"

"(Do you really think so, Yuugioh?)"

Yami nodded. "(I do. Follow your heart Bekhura, now that you have one.)" The pharoah raised his hand, almost whistfully, and placed it over Bakura's chest to feel his heart pulse. "(Do you realize, Bekhura, that you are mortal?)"

"(Of course I do.)" Bakura growled, looking away. "(I think about it every hour of every day! Do you think I want this?!)" The tomb robber was started by Yami's quiet answer.

"(Do you think I don't? Bekhura, you have another life to live. You can love and marry and make love, while I cannot. I am just an observer, I can see but never touch. Don't you know how I envy you, Bekhura?)" Taking Bakura's hand in his, Yami placed it palm down over his own heart. Bakura felt a shiver go down his spine as he realized that no heart beat drummed in Yami's chest.

"(Love her.)" Yami whispered as a tear slid out of his usually stoic eye. "(Let yourself love her, for the both of us.)"

Bakura felt like someone had thrown cold water on him. "(You are in love with-)"

"(No,)" Yami said, chuckling a little as he turned away, wiping tears out of his eyes. "(No, not Amoura. But Tea. Do you know how hard it is, Bekhura, watching my aibou fall in love with her, and knowing I can never touch her the way he does?)"

"(No, I don't know, Yuugioh.)" Bakura said, putting a hand on Yami's shoulder. "(But I can imagine. Don't give up hope, my king. Powerful forces are at work all around us. You may live a life yet.)"

Yami turned in surprise to look at him, but Bakura just smiled mysteriously. "Now," he said in Japanese. "Are you ready to go back to the house?"

Yami shook his head. "No, I think I'll wander around for awhile, then walk back. It isn't that far."

"Are you sure you won't get lost?" Bakura asked.

Yami smirked at him, a little of his old fire renewed. "If you will remember, I am the one with a labrynth for a soulroom. See you later tomb robber."

"You too, my pharoah." The two Egyptians turned away from each other, and Bakura started back toward the car, thinking about what Yami had said. When he reached the limo and stepped inside, he saw Amoura half asleep and leaning on a pile of plushies. Bakura chuckled quietly, and just stood there and looked at her for a few moments, a small smile playing about his lips. Then he went forward and sat down next to her. She stirred slightly and mumbled something in French, and then to Bakura's surprise put her head on his shoulder and snuggled up against him.

Bakura blushed slightly as Franz started up the car and pulled away from the curb. All the way home Yami's words replayed in his mind as he stared down at Amoura's face. "(But now there is Amoura, and you are learning again what true love is.)"

"(...what true love is.)"

"(...true love...)"

The short ride seemed to go even quicker then normal, and before Bakura knew it Franz had opened the door for him. The old butler raised an eyebrow and smirked suggestively as he saw his little mistress asleep on the white-haired man's shoulder. Bakura tried to ignore the nudges and winks Franz kept giving him as he got out of the car. Then he leaned back in and picked up Amoura to carry her up to bed.

The French girl sighed and snuggled against Bakura's chest as he carried her inside, a small smile on her face. Bakura took her upstairs and into her room, where Annalee helped him turn down the sheets and lay her on the bed. Together they gently wrestled Amoura out of her coat and shoes, but just left her in her jeans and t-shirt to sleep. They were comfortable enough anyway.

After Annalee left, Bakura stayed and watched Amoura sleep and listened to his own heart beat.

Could it be that Yami was right?

Mai stood outside the tall hotel building, chewing on her lower lip. She glanced down at the slip of paper in her hand again, then sighed and stuffed it into her pocket. "Better get this over with..." She stalked inside and up to the front desk. "Excuse me please, could I please have the room number of -"

"Mai?!"

Mai turned around to see Joey, Scott, and Serenity stepping off the elevator. Apparently they were on their way to the pool, because they were all dressed in swimsuits and Scott was carrying several towels. Mai's face hardened and went blank, but they didn't seem to notice as they ran up to her.

"Hi Mai!" Serenity said excitedly. "What are you doing in Kyoto?"

Mai ignored her and frowned at Joey, who blinked. "What'd I do?"

"Listen Joey," Mai said, her voice low. "Maybe I loved you in Duelist Kingdom. Maybe I still do. But Kale holds a special place in my heart now and forever, and I won't have you ruining my memories of him with your presence here!"

"Whoa! Hold Mai," Joey said, blancing at the anger in her voice. "Who's this Kale guy?"

"Kale," suddenly Mai found herself fighting back tears. "Kale was more a man then you'll ever be! Why can't you just let me remember him in peace!?" With that she turned and fled.

"Mai!!" Letting out an exasperated sigh, Joey took off after her.

"Hey wait -" Scott started to run after the both of them, but Serenity held him back and shook her head.

"Let them go Scott, Mai needs to talk things out with my brother right now."

Grudgingly, Scott nodded.

"Yay, go Sailor Moon!" Venus cheered as Sailor Moon took care of the last of the Daimons. Sailor Neptune was being double-teamed by Jupiter and Mars, and would probably run off soon if she could convince Uranus to give up the fight.

Thinking of Uranus, Venus looked around for the Soldier of Heavens. Her eyes widened when she saw her with a tight grip on Duke's ponytail. Venus screamed as Uranus kneed Duke in the ribs, causing the dice master to sink to his knees in pain. His face flushed immediately as he panted for breath. Ignoring (or maybe just not seeing) the horrified look on Uranus's face, Venus let all her anger come to a point and called on her first and most deadly attack.

"Venus Cresent Beam Smash!"

The carefully aimed bolt of energy slashed through Duke's ponytail, releasing him from Sailor Uranus's grasp. He fell forward, and Venus caught him before he could hit the pavement, glaring daggers at Uranus. "How dare you..." Venus hissed, hugging Duke close to her. "How dare you hit him when he's already hurt."

In an instant the other four Senshi plus Tuxedo Kamen were arrayed around them. Jupiter, who'd been holding Sailor Neptune with her left arm twisted behind her back, all but threw her toward her partner. The two Outer Senshi clung to each other, and for the first time there was fear in their faces as they stood boxed in by five angry Sailors and one ticked off Tuxedo.

Sailor Uranus still hadn't lost the shocked expression, even as she looked at Venus, who was still on her knees with the injured Duke on her lap. Duke was wheezing hard, struggling for every breath. "I - I didn't know he was hurt, I swear!" The others could see she was telling the truth.

"Just leave," Sailor Moon said, her voice dangerously low.

"But -" Sailor Neptune started to say, but Uranus pulled on her arm, biting her lip as she looked toward Duke. "Never mind Neptune," she said hoarsely. "Let's go."

The Senshi glared at their backs as the two Senshi lept away, until a sharp, painful-sounding cough caught their attention. Venus squeaked in surprise as Duke moved slightly, then let out a mewling cry of pain. He coughed again, and droplets of blood flecked his lips.

Sailor Mercury hurried over and dropped to her knees next to him. She started to feel around Duke's rib cage, but jerked her hands away when he let out another cry of pain. "This is very bad..." she murmered. "His ribs were already cracked, and now at least one has to have punctored a lung." She looked around suddenly and gasped when she saw Ryou still unconcious. "Where's...?"

As if Mercury's words were a signal, Duke's eyes snapped open. His eyes darted around wildly until they came to rest on the nearest familier face, Venus's. He tried to draw a deep breath, and his face crumpled in pain.

"Don't try and talk." Venus warned, smoothing his now cropped hair away from his face. It was a mark of just how much the Sailor Senshi all cared for him that Sailor Jupiter wasn't trying to tear Sailor Venus to shreads for having Duke on her lap.

Duke tossed his head from side to side restlessly. "No..." he moaned in something barely above a whisper. "No... where... Ryou?" He tried to take another breath and coughed violently, sending splatters of blood across the front of Venus's fuku.

Mars kneeled down next to Mercury and leaned in so that her cousin could see her. Her eyes were watering, but she tried not to let her tears show. "I - I'm sorry Duke. He's still unconcious. His Heart Crystal must have gotten smashed in the fight."

Duke shook his head weakly and tried to sit up, and Venus tightened her grip on his shoulders. "Don't try and move Duke, you're hurt bad."

"I... know." Duke looked like he was about to say more, but his gaze drifted behind the Senshi's backs to where Ryou lay. Something seemed to startle him, and his eyes widened. He coughed weakly and again tried to sit up, an agonized look on his face. "Fate... you... come... for me?"

The Senshi turned and gasped to see what looked to them to be an angel who held Ryou in her arms. Her hair was long and blond, her wings one white and one black. Of course, we would know her as the goddess Fate. She smiled slightly at Duke's question and shook her head. "Not yet Duke Devlin, your time has not come." She stepped forward, and all the Senshi except for Venus backed away. Fate kneeled down, cradling Ryou in her lap much the way Venus was Duke. The goddess's smile widened as Duke opened his hands, which up until this point had been clutched against his heaving chest.

Fate gently took the Crystal from him and placed it above Ryou, watching as it desolved away and back into its rightful host. Ryou stirred slightly as the colour came back into his cheeks and opened his eyes. "Fate-sama?"

"Yes Ryou," Fate said, helping him to sit up. "It seems you have cheated death once again. Perhaps you should help your friend do the same."

Ryou's eyes widened and he scrambled off her lap, sensing Duke's pain. "Duke!"

Duke smiled wanely, already knowing what Ryou would do. Placing his hands over Duke's chest, Ryou closed his eyes and concentrated. A soft white glow started in his palms and spread outward to his fingertips. From there it seemed to leap to Duke, who sighed and relaxed in Venus's arms as the healing took effect. A minute later and it was done, and Ryou was leaning back, exhausted. Fate had long since gone in a swirl of feathers and scales.

"Arigatou tomodachi Ryou-san.[1]" Duke said quietly. Then he frowned and sat up, fingering his sleek black hair, which had been chopped off unevenly about three inches below his chin by Venus's Cresent Beam. "What the hell happened to my hair?!"

Venus sweatdropped. "Well, you see..."

"Hey!" Jupiter interrupted. "How come Duke's on your lap?!"

"I didn't see you trying to save him from Uranus!" Venus shot back. She jumped to her feet to face Jupiter, uncerimoniously dumping Duke to the ground next to Ryou.

"I was busy with Neptune!"

Ryou sighed and chuckled tiredly, running a hand through his tangled hair. "Boys will be boys..."

"...And girls will be girls." Duke finished with a sigh.

"Ooooh! Yugi look, the Eiffel Tower! I'll bet it has a wonderful view from the top."

Yugi smiled at Tea and nodded. "I'm sure. Want to go see?"

Tea laughed. "Okay. But we'll have to watch out for purse-snatching lunatics." The two of them snickered, knowing very well what Yami and Bakura had done to the would-be deck thief.

"Tea..." Yugi said, then hesitated a moment. "Tea, you're not still mad at me for... you know... are you?"

Tea giggled and shook her head. "No. I know you didn't peek on me on purpose. If it was Joey or Tristan I'd be a bit more upset, but not with you."

"What about Bakura?" Yugi asked as they got on the elevator for the Eiffel Tower's main observation deck. "Are you still mad at him?"

"We'll let Amoura handle Bakura." Tea said, winking at him. "Those two really are a pair, even if they don't know it yet."

"Oh, Bakura knows it." Yugi said, absently resting a hand over the Puzzle. "He's known it ever since he stood up to defend her from Director-Baka." He scowled a little at the mention of their would-be director. "I sure hope someone else is directing the musical this year..."

Tea chuckled. "I hope we can actually get through the musical this year." she said. "I wonder which one we're going to do..."

"I've heard a couple different things." Yugi said, shrugging a little. "I've heard Beauty and the Beast, I've heard the Wizard of Oz, and I've heard Oklahoma. Any of those would be good."

Tea nodded. "Yeah, they'd all be fun to do. I can't wait to audition!"

Yugi grinned at her. "Well, you'll have a bit of a wait. That's still quite a few months away." The door to the elevator opened, and they stepped out and onto the observation platform. "Wow..."

The view was spactacular. The sun was just beginning to go down, painting Paris vivid reds and oranges. From where Tea and Yugi stood they could see Notre Dame, its famous stained glass windows looking like they were on fire from the setting sun. The Seine river ran a dark, blue-black ribbon through the center of Paris, criss-crossed by bridges here and there.

"It's beautiful." Yugi breathed.

"It's so high..." Tea stepped closer to Yugi, sliding her hand into his.

He chuckled and squeezed her hand. "Don't worry Tea. You won't fall as long as you don't get too close to the edge."

"I know." Tea said. "I've just never been very good with heights."

The two stood silent for awhile and watched the scenery, not realizing that they still held hands.

Mako Tsunami, ocean duelist and sailor extrodinare, sighed and drummed his fingers on the counter of the Turtle Game Shop. Soloman was away in Egypt and had left the shop under Mako's care. It sure was beginning to get boring though. Mako wished he could take a day off and go fishing.

Oh well, at least he was getting paid.

It had taken the better part of the day for Shaadi and Shen and a few of the stronger workers to open the door. Isis insisted on having the team's artist, a young Egyptian girl by the name of Nisa, copy down all the carvings on the doors before Shaadi even touched them. That took about two hours, after which Shaadi and Shen all but attacked the door.

Actually, it was a very tricky business opening it up, because they didn't want to damage any of the carvings, even if they were copied down. They finally got it open around seven that night, and by that time it was time to stop for the day anyway. Shaadi appointed two men that he trusted to stay there and guard the tomb that night, even though they were all camping right around that area.

Fires were started, and the workers crowded around for supper. Isis, Shaadi, Shen, Soloman, and Arthur had a fire of their own, and Isis had invited Nisa to join them. Isis and Nisa were also sharing a tent, since they were the only two women there.

"So what do you think we'll find tomorrow?" Soloman asked to the group of archaeologists in general.

"I dunno," Shen answered, ladeling himself a bowlful of ramen from the pot hanging suspended over the fire. "Boy, I never thought I'd miss instant ramen... We could find any number of things! Are you sure you trust those sentries you posted Shaadi-san?"

Shaadi nodded, fingering the Ankh, which hung around his neck as usual. Since he was back in the dry desert air of Egypt he'd taken to wrapping his hair back up into a turban, but wore archaeologists clothes just like the rest, having abandoned his long robes. "With my life. Both are cousins of mine, and know the legends of Pharoah Yami. They know how important this tomb is, and while they may take a bit of a peek tonight themselves, they won't disturb anything."

"Good." Arthur said. Soloman had long since told him that his oldest "grandson" wasn't all he seemed, and Arthur had taken onto the idea of the Millenium Items like a duck to water.

Suddenly Nisa, who'd been sitting quietly and eating the funny long things that were called "ramen", jumped up and pointed at something, jabbering away in Arabic. Shaadi and Isis, the only two of the group who understood her, quickly looked to where she was pointing. Shen, Soloman, and Arthur quickly followed suit, and the entire group gasped in amazement.

On top of the cliffs into which the tomb was carved, a bright light was shining. It didn't seem to be steady though, like an electric light, and it didn't dance the way a fire did. Instead, it seemed to wink on and off, and twinkle, like a great star had decided to come down and sit on the cliffs.

After about a minute or so of watching it, the light went out, and the archaeologists looked excitedly at each other. Isis and Nisa started up a rapid conversation in Arabic while the men tried to figure out what the light had been.

"You know..." Shen said slowly, stroking his chin. "It looked almost like Ryou does when his aura shines. Like a small, bright star."

"It did," Shaadi agreed, remembering back to the battle over the Tokyo U drama house, which he'd been there to witness. "But why show up here?"

Shen shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, that wasn't Ryou. I just said it looked like what Ryou does when his aura comes up."

"It was a spirit." Isis said, having finished up grilling Nisa. "Or at least that's what the locals think. It shows up about once or twice a month, most often during full moon. If you go up there, you won't find a thing. Nothing that could be reflecting light, nothing at all. But according to Nisa, her uncle's brother's best friend's sister's nephew went up there once while the light was there. He claims he saw two figures, one male and one female, at the edge of the cliff, holding up wands of some sort, and that the light was coming from the end of their wands. He also claims he could see right through them, and that after a minute or so they vanished into thin air."

"Superstition?" Soloman wondered.

Shaadi shook his head. "You just saw the light. It wasn't a mass hallucination. In fact..." He frowned slightly as he thought back. "It felt almost magical in nature."

"Magical?" Isis asked. Suddenly something seemed to dawn on her. "What about our tomb? Could this light have something to do with it?"

"Possible." Shen said, then yawned. "I guess we'll have to find out in the morning."

The others agreed, and said their good nights to each other. Shen was of the good fortune to have a tent to himself. The others could have had them, if they'd wanted, but Shaadi had chosen to share with an old friend of his, and Soloman and Arthur had opted to share a tent too. So each of them went their own way.

Shen entered his tent and sat down at the small desk that had been set up, and turned on his laptop. Mokuba Kaiba had recently sent him a program that coordinated with Ryou's gel-screen computer, and translated all the e-mails between them from romanji[2] to braille and then back again. Settling down in the seat somewhat and making sure the mosquito netting over the window was secure, Shen started to type out a letter to his son, unaware that someone was watching.

Outside his tent, peeking through the mosquito-proof window, stood two figures. If you could have seen them, you would have saw a man in his mid- to late-twenties, carrying a long staff with a jewel of some sort on one end. The other was a female in her late teens or early twenties, carrying a similar staff.

"Master, is he the one?" the girl asked.

The man closed his eyes and for a moment glowed a very vivid purple. Then he opened his eyes and shook his head. "He has connections to the pharoah, but the old one in the other tent had ties much stronger. I do see something intresting about this man though. Can you tell me what it is, apprentice?"

This time it was the girl who shut her eyes, and she glowed pink for a second. Her forehead creased and she frowned. "No, I can't. I'm sorry Master."

Her master sighed. "I see he has strong ties to the Lady Fate, as well as to the tomb robber, Bekhura." He sneered a little at this, while the girl clapped her hands.

"Oh Lady Fate! Perhaps this will turn into a complete reunion, Master!"

"We can hope." he said, smiling a little. "Now then, rework that spell, and slowly, so I can see what you did wrong."

"All right Master."

Unseen and unheard by any mortal eyes and ears, the two mages practiced on for the day when their Pharoah Yuugioh would need their services again.

Mai kept running, half-blinded by her tears, not even realizing where her feet were taking her until she found herself there. She collapsed onto a bench and began to sob, burrying her face in her hands. A moment later she felt a pair of strong arms around her, and for a brief instant she thought he'd come back to her. But no, when she looked up it was Joey Wheeler's face she saw. Scrunching up her face, she turned away from him.

"Aw, come on Mai," he said. "Don't be like that! I'm only trying to help. Look, if you want to talk, I'm right here."

Mai sniffled, flicking a few tears out of her eyes, and turned back to face him. "I suppose I do owe you an explanation." She bit her lip as fresh tears ran down her cheeks. "Last summer, when I ran off, I came here, to Kyoto. No real reason, except that it was far away from Domino, and from you."

"From me?" Joey asked, surprised.

Mai nodded. "From you. When I got here, I didn't know anyone. I got a job waitressing at this low-budget diner that I don't think is even around anymore. My boss, this guy by the name of Kale Tarumi, took my under his wing. He got me a place to stay, made sure I was all right. And... and after awhile we began to fall in love.

"But Kale wasn't all sunshine and roses. He was part of a gang, and so I joined up to be near him. I ended up insulting a rival gang-leader's girlfriend, so I got myself bumped up to the top of their hit list." She chuckled at how absurd it sounded now, months later.

"I was walking home from work late one night, right through this park. The gang ambushed me, but Kale came out of no where and started fighting them off..." She sobbed again, and this time let Joey pull her into a hug. "And they killed him! Joey, they killed him right here! Right here! They told me my debt had been paid for me, and left. Joey, I thought I'd die of heartbreak..."

Joey hugged her close as she cried, wondering how in the hell he'd fallen back in love with Mai, and how in the hell he was going to compete with a ghost, let alone his cousin, for her heart.

Bakura and Yugi were the only ones up. Tea had gone to bed almost as soon as she and Yugi had come back. Valeraine the servents had followed not soon after. Even Madame had turned in at midnight, with a few derogitory comments about Yami's sense of time. It was almost two AM, and the pharoah still had not returned.

"Do you think he's all right Bakura?" Yugi asked worridly. The two of them were in the livingroom, idly watching some French news network and trying to keep themselves awake to wait for Yami's return.

"Dunno," Bakura said, sipping at a mug filled with more creame and sugar then actual coffee. "He seemed pretty depressed though, who knows what he may have done."

Yugi sighed. "I don't like the sound of that..."

There was a soft footstep behind them, and they turned to see not Yami as they had hoped, but Amoura, with a bathrobe tied around her. "Oh," she said, blinking in surprise. "I did not know you vere still up. My radio zaid zomething about a terrorist strike downtown, zo I vanted to check the news." She looked scared, so Bakura held out a hand to her.

"Here," he said. "Come sit with us. Just make sure you do some translation."

Amoura nodded and sat down between them, snuggling down into the couch as Bakura turned up the volume on the TV slightly. The anchorman seemed to be listening to something in his ear piece, and then looked shocked. He composed himself, and began talking in rapid-fire French.

"Let's zee..." Amoura murmered. " 'Earlier ziz evening tourists vere shocked to report zat an apparent terrorist attack by zee Japaneze 'ad been aimed at zee Arc de Triumph.' " She paused and exchanged started glances with the boys before continuing to translate for the newsman. " ' Kanji zymbols vere found painted acrozz zee front of zee Arc in vat appears to be blood. Ve are told zat zee actual meaning iz very vulgar, but means zomething roughly along zee lines of "Beware, for your mortality zhall be your downfall".' "

The news room was replaced be a picture of the Arc de Triumph, and it did indeed have kanji and katakana sprayed all along the base, along with a very familiar symbol to anyone who knows Yu-Gi-Oh very well. The two Japanese and the French girl stared in shock as the news report continued on, saying that a witness had been found, but apparently couldn't be interviewed because he thought the microphone was someone's purse.

They were so stunned, in fact, that they didn't hear the door open or unsteady footsteps approaching them until high pitched giggling made them all jump. Whirling around, they saw Yami leaning against the entrance to the kitchen. His face was flushed, and his clothes were torn and dirty and stained red in places. He giggled again and pointed at the TV. "I ish a good artisht!"

Bakura frowned and went up to the wayward pharoah. Bakura poked him, and Yami fell over into a heap. "Baku!" Yami giggled, latching himself onto Bakura's ankle. "You'sh are spinning aww over da' place!"

Bakura wrinkled his nose and bent down to sniff at Yami's breath. "Holy shit Pharoah! You're drunker then Malik was last New Years!"

Amoura sweatdropped a little as Yami continued to giggle drunkenly. "And zat vas very drunk."

Yugi looked from his yami to the Eye of Horus scrawled above the kanji on the Arc, and then back to his yami and sweatdropped. "Ooooooh boy..."

Ryou tenced as Duke helped him to his feet. "Rigel..."

"Who?" Sailor Moon asked, confused.

Ryou pushed Duke away to stand on his own, and turned to face the setting sun. A moment later what looked for all the world to be a Celtic Guardian stepped out of the shadows between two buildings. "Very perseptive of you, Child."

"What do you want Rigel?" Ryou asked, his fists clenched. If Rigel attacked him here he wouldn't have the strength to fight, and both of them knew it. But he also had the Senshi on his side, and that was well known by both of them as well.

"I want you to know, little telepath, that we almost had you today. You may like to think you're invincible, but you are not. Just know, Ryou Bakura, that we have not forgotten Briar-Rose, or Firas, or Jalila. We will triumph in the end, Ryou Bakura. One way or another, we will win." With that Rigel waved his hand and vanished, presumably back to the Shadow Realm.

Ryou stayed standing straight for just an instant longer, then collapsed back to his knees with a sigh. The Senshi and Duke were instantly around him, asking if he was all right. "Just take me home..." Ryou whispered as Tuxedo Kamen picked me up. "Just... I need sleep..." He yawned a little, and then he was indeed asleep.

Duke smiled at him as the Senshi de-transformed and they all trooped back toward the Hikawa Shrine. Ryou had certainly earned his rest today.

The next morning dawned clear and bright, and the archaeologists were hard at work again by six AM. Most of the workers were still asleep, because they were not needed. The room just inside the doorway was surprisingly clear of debris, which ment the rest of the tomb probably would be too.

Shen was coming up the stairs from the tomb, carrying a fragile vase they'd found inside, just as the sun rose. He delivered the vase to the tent where Isis and Nisa were working to cataloge and tag everything the men were finding. During the afternoon, when it was hot even in the shade, they would all be down in the tomb working on copying and/or interpretting wall paintings.

For a moment Shen stood and watched the sun rise over the desert. "This is so amazing..." he said quietly, half to himself and half to Isis. "This is one of the reasons I love to work in Egypt. Everything is just so exactly how it was five-thousand years ago."

"Yes," Isis agreed. "It's very beautiful here. Shaadi and I have plans to stay here our whole lives. Of course, we'll come visit all you in Japan." she said, winking slightly. Shen chuckled and nodded, then excused himself to go back down into the tomb.

As soon as you went down the shallow steps and through the door, you entered a small aterroom that was about twenty feet square. All the walls were covered with paintings, the floor was littered with goods. On the left wall, an arched doorway led into the darkness of another set of rooms they hadn't had a chance to explore yet, the same with the right.

Arthur and Soloman were working on the left wall, while Shaadi puzzled over the right. Now that most of the goods, which had been mostly vases and pots, were removed, Shen turned around to the wall that held the entrance to take his own turn at translation.

They worked on in silence for some hours. Most of what they found were typical verses from the Book of the Dead, as well as blessings. To their puzzlement though, they found no mention of any curses that would fall on any who defiled the tomb. Most tombs had a curse of some kind.

But it was the fourth wall, the one directly in front of you as you came in, that was the most magnificint and puzzling of them all. Once Isis joined them after a short break for lunch at noon, all five archaeologists converged on this wall so they could work on figuring it out together. On it was a beautiful painting, quite different from the usual Egyptian style. It seemed to be a collage of different scenes from the lives of the tomb's two occupants. So for the most the archaeologists had been able to work out were that they were mages, one male and one female, and had served almost directly under Pharoah Yami, or Pharoah Yuugioh, as the mages knew him.

The first scene showed two very short versions of the mages, obviously them at young ages, bowing before the pharoah. Strangely enough, the pharoah they bowed to was not Yami, although a very young Yami was in the picture, off to one side. The archaeologists had finally desided that this must have ment that the mages had served Yami's father before Yami himself came to the throne.

Following that were several scenes of everyday life, hunting, falconing, the learning and casting of spells. Most of these scenes included Pharoah Yami, which confirmed Shen's idea that these mages were very close friends of his.

The next scene puzzled them all for a long time. It showed some sort of ritual, with Pharoah Yami and the male mage standing side-by-side. Soloman guessed that it was when Yami recieved the Millenium Puzzle, because he was shown wearing it for the first time. But the male mage was wearing what had to be the Millenium Ring, and no one knew why. The Ring was Bakura's, wasn't it?

The next scene was the one Isis was most intrested in. It resembled the one in her collection with Pharoah Yami and High Priest Seth facing each other in a duel. Except this one was the High Priest verses the male mage, who was again wearing the Ring, with Pharoah Yami standing between them. That symbolized that either he was trying to break them up or (more likely), that he was the reason for the duel. But most baffling of all was that while the High Priest had the Blue Eyes White Dragon hovering over him, just like in the tablet Isis had, the male mage didn't seem to have a monster. He just had his staff, which was pointing toward the Blue Eyes.

Following that was a scene rather more easy to figure out. The male mage was standing with his arm around the female, who looked (if Isis's translation of the accompanying hieroglyphs was right) to be pregnant with twins. Something must have happened though, because the next panal showed the female mage weeping and the male trying to comfort her. The children weren't mentioned again. Shaadi pointed out that from this point on, the male wasn't wearing the Ring anymore, but none of them could figure out why he was wearing it in the first place, let alone why he now suddenly wasn't.

The most prominant scene showed the two mages lying in pools of what was assumed to be their own blood, the male's right hand clasped firmly around the female's left. Isis thought it might be their death scene, and Shen half-way agreed with her. But Arthur wasn't so sure, because the last scene of the wall showed them standing together with their staffs raised high, and a powerful light coming off of them. Arthur thought they might have healed themselves somehow, while Isis argued that it was a picture of the afterlife.

While the two bickered good-naturedly, Shaadi and Shen lit lamps and the two of them, together with Soloman, began to explore the room on the right hand side of the main room. What they found started all three into silence.

It was a burial chamber with a high ceiling held up by beautifully carved, fluted collumns that looked golden in the flickering lamp light. Standing directly in the center of the floor were two stone sarcophaguses, which had to hold the mummies of the two mages. At the head of each sarcophagus a small hole had been drilled in the floor, and what had to be the mages' staffs were standing upright in front of their master and mistress. The staffs were very, very familiar, especially to Soloman, but for the moment even he took no notice.

Because curled up on top of one of the sarcphoguses, looking for all the world like it was only asleep, was a bundle of dark, brownish-black fur. Shaadi gasped a little upon seeing it, and the little bundle's eyes shot open, focusing sharply on the three frozen men. It heaved itself to its feet, little green feet, and shook itself, dislodging dust and bits of plaster in all directions. It then got into an attack possition and just stared at them, growling slightly.

It was a Kuriboh. A real, live Kuriboh, outside the Shadow Realm.

"Isis!" Shaadi called softly, never taking his eyes off the little brown fuzzball. "Isis, get in here."

"Shaadi, what are you - " Isis stopped and stared, as did Arthur. Very slowly she swallowed and continued in a much quieter voice, "What do we do?"

"Don't make it mad." Shen answered in the same sort of voice.

It was then that the Kuriboh pounced, and all five of them ducked and held up their arms as if to ward off the little furball. Instead of attacking though, what the Kuriboh did really resembled more of a glomp. It attached itself to Shaadi's turban and started cooing happily.

"Hey now..." Shaadi muttered, reaching up to pry the little beast off. "What do you think you're - OW! Hey, it bit me!"

Isis stared at it. "I think, Shaadi, you might want to leave it alone."

"Oh easy for you to say," Shaadi said sourly. "You don't have a Kuriboh on your head."

"I think it likes you." Soloman noted, trying without success to hold back his chuckles.

'Who dares disturb us?'

The voice was so unexpected that all of them shrieked, including Shaadi's little "friend". They looked at each other with wide eyes and then went running back into the sunlight, where they sat on the sand panting. "Okay," Arthur said. "There are defiantely spirits in there!"

Isis looked thoughtful as she caught and held Shen's eyes. "I wonder..."

"I'll e-mail him tonight." Shen promised.

[1] Arigatou tomodachi Ryou-san = (roughly) Thank you my friend Ryou.

[2] Romanji is what we write in, letters and numbers. For the Japanese, it means the literal spelling out of their words, such as 'arigatou' instead of the kanji symbol for 'arigatou'. *sweatdrop* Do you get what I'm saying, or am I just confusing you?

()()()()()

WSJ: *bouncing around and squealing*

Ryou: ;>> Oh what now?

WSJ: SD Gundam is so KAWAII!!!!! I love it to death!!!! *glomps Captain Gundam* He's so cute!!!

Ryou: *sweatdrop*

WSJ: ^o^ Well, I guess the occupants of the tomb didn't get revieled this chapter. Hehehe... But we did uncover some intresting stuff, such as Mai's oh-so-tragic past and the fact that Yami can't hold his liquor. *grin* Ah yes, and I want everyone to take a hand at naming the Kuriboh. I already have a couple ideas, the best (and most obvious) so far being "Fluffy". ^~ Any other good Kuriboh names? Anyone? Anyone? Whoever comes up with the name I actually end up using will get a small guest appearence in an upcoming chapter!

Chapter 7: WSJ: (V/O) Next time, on HSH...

Yami: *groaning* Owww... My head...

WSJ: (V/O) Yami discovers that hangovers are a bad thing. And that things you do while drunk are even worse.

Yugi: *screeching at the top of his lungs and waving his arms around* YOU TRIED TO HIT ON THE FRENCH AMBASSADOR'S DAUGHTER!?!?

Yami: *wincing at the loud noice* Aiiiibou...

WSJ: (V/O) Rigel reports in to his boss...

Rigel: *bowing his head slightly* I assure you master, I will not fail again...

WSJ: (V/O) And Gwen goes hyper.

Gwen: *bouncing around excitedly* Pegasus Con starts up next week!

Malik: *spits cereal across the table* Pegasus what?!

WSJ: (V/O) And Ryou heads home again to a surprise.

Ryou: *reading off an e-mail from his father* Spirits in the tomb... Need psychic intervention... Yami unreachable... Do I want to come to Egypt?!?

WSJ: Next time! ^~ Ja!

God bless minna-san!